1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to the field of shoes, and more specifically is directed to a shoe, or shoe sole, which comprises an integral compartment, or chamber, for storage of items such as, by way of example and not by limitation, money, credit cards, identification cards, safety products such as pepper spray or mace, vehicle keys, house or apartment keys, or any personal or other item that the user may desire to keep close at hand for easy access. The invention is useful for any number of situations or occasions in which the storage of such personal items may be desired, but may be especially useful in certain situations, such as those occurrences when the user is in an environment in which it may be undesirable carry a bag, purse, briefcase or other portable storage apparatus. In such situations the invention provides a useful means for carrying personal items as desired by the user. The invention is also useful providing a measure of safety, as items stored in the compartment of the invention may not be apparent and may thus be overlooked in the instance in which the user of the invention is attacked or is robbed of obvious valuables such as a wallet, purse or jewelry. In such an event, an attacker may overlook the possibility that any valuables would be stored within a shoe compartment and thus the user may be spared the loss of items stored there.
Still further, the use of purses or other handheld bags or containers to carry personal objects has the drawback that such purses or bags may be bulky, are easily misplaced or unintentionally left behind in a public place, are susceptible to theft and may generally be undesirable for carrying for a number of reasons. Furthermore, the use of a wallet to carry personal objects such as money or credit cards may be undesirable in many situations, as a person's clothing may not comprise pockets that allow carrying a wallet. What is needed, therefore, is a means by which objects, for example personal objects such as money, keys, and the like, may be carried by a person with the need for a separate carrying devices such as a purse or hand carried container.
The present invention, which may include a shoe, or shoe sole, that comprises a storage chamber contained with the sole of a shoe, meets the need and is further simple to use and operate.
2. Background Art
Shoes of all types and sizes are well-known in the art. There have been prior attempts to provide storage in a shoe compartment so that a user may carry certain personal objects with them in a shoe. The attempts to provide storage in a shoe compartment in the background art have met with limited success.
For example U.S. printed patent application number US 2005/0172520 A1 describes a shoe comprising a hinge that operates to allow a front portion of the sole of a shoe to rotate downward and away from the shoe. This particular approach to providing a storage compartment within a shoe suffers from the disadvantage that the rotating front portion of the shoe may unintentionally or unexpectedly become unlatched and rotate downward without warning and may cause a user to stumble and fall if it catches on a walking surface.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,612 describes a shoe comprising a hollow heel portion that may be closed by inserting a male threaded element into the bottom of the heel portion. The hollow heel portion forms a storage chamber. This particular approach to providing a storage compartment within a shoe suffers from the disadvantage that the available volume for storage is limited to the heel of the shoe and may not provide enough volume for certain items such as, for instance, credit cards.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 2,897,609 describes a heel, specifically the heel of a boot or man's shoe, which comprises a hinge such that the heel portion of the boot or shoe rotates downward. A hollow portion in the heel forms a storage compartment or chamber that is exposed when the heel portion of the boot or shoe is rotated into a downward position so that the user may access the chamber. This particular approach to providing a storage compartment within a boot or shoe suffers from the disadvantage that the rotating heel portion of the boot or shoe may cause a user to stumble and fall if it catches on a walking surface.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,008 describes a compartment contained within a heel, for example, a heel of a man's boot or shoe, which further comprises a side door that opens laterally allowing a user access to the compartment contained within the heel. While this approach may be usable for a man's shoe or boot, it is not feasible for a women's shoe which comprises a narrow heel section as there is likely not enough volume available in the heel area of a typical woman's shoe, such as a high heel shoe, to allow storage of any personal objects of any appreciable size such as, for example, a credit card or set of car keys.
The cited examples of the background art may suffer from other disadvantages over and above those stated herein. What is therefore needed in the art is a shoe comprising a compartment or storage chamber for the storage of personal objects such as, for instance, credit cards money or car keys, which is contained within a portion of the shoe comprising a large enough volume to store such personal objects while reducing the likelihood that the open compartment may cause a user to trip and fall. Furthermore, it would be desirable that such a shoe and chamber combination would be easily accessible by the user. The present invention overcomes the limitations and drawbacks of shoe compartments of the background art.